Blast from past

Fireworks are about the best way for minor league teams to draw big crowds — that and having a major league star visit on an injury rehab assignment.

The Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox enjoyed both last night when David Ortiz homered in his first game since injuring his left wrist against the Baltimore Orioles on May 31.

Ortiz finished his first minor league action since 2001 going 1 for 3 and hitting the ball hard twice. He also walked.

“I was fine,” he said. “I saw pitches. I chased a few high fastballs, but other than that I laid off the bad pitches. That’s how you work on your timing. The good thing is everything came out the way I expected.”

He said he wasn’t concerned about hitting homers, but trying to get back in the groove, something he doesn’t expect to happen overnight.

“I’m not going to be focusing on just hitting the ball,” he said. “I’m going to be focusing on seeing the ball and making sure I stay back on the offspeed pitches.”

He did that well enough in the fourth inning to turn around a 78-mph changeup from Toledo starter Virgil Vasquez and line it just over the wall in right above the Dave’s Marketplace sign.

The homer started an onslaught in which the PawSox smashed five homers and beat Toledo, 15-6.

Ortiz popped up in the first inning, lined out to first later in the fourth and walked in the sixth before being lifted for a pinch runner.

It was a good start as he comes back from an injury — a partial tear of a tendon sheath in his hand — that was severe enough he faced the prospect of surgery if it didn’t heal.

He said he couldn’t even hold a bat when he first got hurt.

Ortiz isn’t out of the woods yet, but he has passed each step along the way without any setbacks.

If all goes well, he could be back in the Boston Red Sox lineup a week from today when the club returns from the West Coast.

Ortiz wasn’t the only Pawtucket player last night who could be in a Boston uniform soon. Justin Masterson, who was sent to the minors last week to make the transition from starter to reliever, pitched 1-1/3 innings. He gave up two runs on two hits, but the game was well in hand by that point. It was his third relief appearance since being sent down.

Ortiz was the main attraction, though.

Maybe it was that the Boston Red Sox haven’t played since Sunday or that the slugger hasn’t seen action, but Ortiz’s assignment was a very big deal in Pawtucket and Red Sox Nation.

McCoy Stadium was standing-room-only last night, the press box included. The four games Ortiz will play for the PawSox sold out quickly. The slugger’s three games with the Portland Sea Dogs next week are also sold out.

Last night’s crowd of 11,460 was the biggest of the season and fourth largest in franchise history.

“Unbelievable,” Ortiz said of his reception by the fans. “It feels like family.”

The fans chanted “Pa-pi” and gave Ortiz several ovations. He acknowledged the crowd with a wave as he exited in the sixth.

“That’s exactly what happens in Fenway,” Ortiz said. “When they call your name it kind of pumps you up and puts you in the mood.”

Some big leaguers chafe at minor league assignments, but Ortiz believes he needs the work to get his timing back.

“I’m going to be smart about it,” Ortiz said. “That’s why I want to play every game. When I go back I want to be healthy.”

His presence is beneficial for the PawSox as a business and a baseball team.

Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said his young players can learn from seeing how Ortiz prepares for games.

“It’s good for the young players to be around him,” Johnson said. “This is a guy who’s your future teammate if you get to where you want to go.”

Ortiz was a fully engaged member of the Pawsox, even taking part in Johnson’s circle of trust, a daily pre-game routine in which the players and the manager gather on the field and get whatever might be bothering them off their chests.

In keeping with team tradition, Ortiz didn’t reveal what transpired inside the circle.

He did all the right things last night and seemed to enjoy himself.

“I’m excited to be here,” Ortiz said. “Sometimes these people don’t get an opportunity to get to Fenway so I’m going to have fun.”